Temporary rail joint



L. A. WELCH.

TEMPORARY RAIL JOINT.

PLICATION FILED FEB. 23, 1

Patented June 20, 1922.

PATENT OFFICE.

hours a. WELCI-I, or CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY,

TEMPORARY RAIL JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 20, 1922.

Application filed February 23, 1922. Serial No. 538,625.

To an whom it may concern Be it known that 1, Louis A. WELSH, a citizenof the United States, residing at Camden, in the county of Camden andState of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Temporary Rail Joints, of which the following is a specification,reference being had to the accom' panying drawings. v

At times rails split or break, especially when subject to intense coldand as a result of heavy traiiic. If the split or break occurs betweenthe joints of the rails, the broken adjacent ends are very liable toleave the ties, or become moved laterally, causing a derailing of thetrain, the result of which may be more or less very dangerous.

It is, therefore, the purpose to provide a temporary rail joint to beapplied to the rails, not only to hold the rails in alignment, but alsofor preventing the rails from leaving the ties, thereby avoidingderailing of the train.

In other words the present rail oint is applied until the rails arepermanently repaired, in fact until the broken rails have been replacedby new rail sections, and in this case the new rails are spiked to theties in the usual manner, and the temporary rail joints removed.

A further purpose is the provision of a temporary rail joint including aplurality of clamps applied to the opposite sides of the rails, say forinstance three on each side, one immediately where the break is located,and the others spaced on each side thereof a short distance from thecenter clamps, in combination with an elongated plate provided withoperative wedge connections with the clamps, 'to hold the clampssecurely in position;

A still further purpose is the provision of a series of clamps, eachembracing the base of the rail and having a portion engaged with theside of the web between the base and the under portion of the ball ofthe rail, to reinforce the rail and hold the broken parts together andin alignment.

Additionally the invention has to do with the inclined outer edges ofthe clamps, which incline downwardly and outwardly, in combination withnotches, which are not only correspondingly formed, but are wedgeshaped, so as to not only wedge in engagement with the clamps, but alsoto bear upon .the downwardly inclined edges of the clamps, to insureholding them down, and

reduction of the invention to a more practical form for commercialpurposes, the invention may be susceptible of changes, and the right tothese changes is claimed, provided they are comprehended within thescope of what is claimed.

The invention comprises further'features and combination of parts, aswill be hereinafter set forth, shown in the drawings and claimed.

In the drawings Figure l is a view in perspective of the improvedtemporary rail joint constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a conventional form of tie(acting as an insert filler tie), and 2 denotes a rail, which has becomebroken as at 3,

In order to hold the two rail sections, which are caused to exist due tothe break 3, in position, a plurality of clamps 4: is applied on eachside of the rail 2. It will be noted that one clamp on each side of therail 2 is placed so that its edge where it engages the rail covers thebreak or joint 8 in the rail, The other two clamps of each pluralitythereof, are spaced short distances from the center clamp. Each clampcomprises a body portion 5, which embraces the rail, at a point adjacentthe web, overlying the base, andfitting between the base and the undersurface of the ball of the rail, as at 6, 7 and 8. In fact the part ofthe body which fits under the ball of the rail is curved to conform tothe contour of the under surface ofthe ball, thereby not only preventinglateral movement of the rail, but also constituting a support andreinforcement for the ball of the rail.

The lower part of the body 5 of each clamp, substantially midway thereofis notched and provided with a recess 9, which embraces or receives thebase of the rail,

thereby also reinforcing the rail, as well as preventing lateralmovement. In fact a portion of the clamp engages under the base of therail, and assists materially in holding the clamp in position. Aspreviously stated the inner base. portions of the clamps at extend underthe base of the rail, and if itwere not for sinking the base portions ofthe clamps 4 into the filler tie, the base of the rail would not engageflush with the upper surface of the filler tie. In other words the baseportions of the clamps 4 are sunk into the filler tie for the purpose ofpermitting the base of the rail to engage flush with the tie.

The outer upper edge of each clamp is inclined outwardly and downwardly,and it will be noted that this inclined edge performs a very importantpurpose.

For instance a suitable plate 10 is provided, to rest upon the tie andis secured thereto by means of a spike 11, and is provided with aplurality of notches 12.

' The bottoms 1 3 of these notches or recesses are inclinedcorrespondingly to the inclination ofthe edges 14 of the clamps, andsince the plate 10 is secured to the upper surface of the tie, theclamps 4: are held in position, and prevented from leaving the tie,thereby preventing the rail sections on each side of the break 3 fromleaving the ties.

It will be noted that the plate 10 is long enough, to span the distanceor space between two ties, (not shown) so thatthis plate may rest upontwo adjacent ties, and by inserting a filler tie (shown inFigure 1)between the two ties where the joint 3 may be caused to be formed in therail, the plate lO may be fastened to the filler tie. In other wordssupposing the rail, due'to'intense cold,

should become broken at a point between two adjacent ties, an insert tiemay be applied, and then the plate 10 may be fastened thereto, and henceprevent lateral movement of the broken adjacent ends of a rail section.

The notches or recesses 12 also have upwardly converging side walls. Infact the notches or recesses 12 are more or less wedge shaped, so thatthe side walls-of the notches or recesses may wedge in engagement withtheopposite faces of the clamps 4, and thereby assist in preventingoutward movements of the rails.

The notches or recesses 9 embrace the base of the rail sufficiently tohold the rail sections in position, and allow them to expand andcontract incident to the change in temperature.

The invention having been set forth, what is claimed is 1. Thecombination with the broken ends of rail sections, of a plurality ofclamps on each side of the rail sections, embracing the base thereof andfitting between'the base and the ball of the rail, an elongated holdingplate spiked to the tie and having means in wedging engagement with theclamps to hold them against the rail sections and to prevent them fromleaving the tie.

2. The combination with the broken ends of rail sections, of a pluralityof clamps embracing the base of the rail and fitting between the baseand ball of the rail, a plate secured to the tie and having meanswedgingly fitting the clamps for holding them down and in embracingengagement with the rail sections.

3. The combination with the broken ends of rail sections, of a pluralityof clamps embracing the base of the rail and engaging between the baseand the ball of the rail, a plate secured to the tie and provided with aplurality of notches having a wedging engagement with the clamps to holdthem in position and against the rail sections. 7

4. The combination with the broken ends of rail sections, of a pluralityof clamps on each side of the rail sections, each embracing the base ofthe rail and engaging between the base and the ball of the rail, a platesecured to a tie and having notches, which are tapered or wedge shaped,so as to wedge in engagement with the clamps to hold the clamps inposition.

5. The combination with the broken ends of rail sections, of a pluralityof clamps on each side of the rail sections, each embracing the base ofthe rail and engaging between the base and the ball of the rail, a platesecured to a tie and having notches, which are tapered or wedge shaped,so as to wedge in engagement with the clamps to hold the clamps inposition, the outer edges of the clamps inclining downwardly andoutwardly, the bottoms of the notches or recesses inclin downwardly andoutwardly, andoverlying the edges of the clamps, to hold the clamps downand in position.

In-testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature. 7

' I LOUIS A. WELCH.

